Indigenous Pre Recruitment Course - South Australia

The Australian Defence Force is holding its Indigenous Pre-Recruitment Course (IPRC) in South Australia for the first time, offering unique personal and professional development opportunities to young Indigenous Australians.

The six-week course is now under way in Adelaide and focuses on the delivery of five core training modules: cultural appreciation, language, literacy and numeracy, military skills, physical fitness and vocational training.

He said the course offered high-quality training to young Indigenous Australians from a range of cultural backgrounds.

"The Indigenous Pre-Recruitment Course offers unique opportunities for personal and professional development that participants will take with them into a career in the ADF or back to their local communities,” Warrant Officer Class One Watego said.

“The ADF values and supports young Indigenous people and I am proud to be part of the leadership team running this course.”

The IPRC is being supported by the Army's 9th Brigade. The 9th Brigade has a proud history and continues to contribute to the Australian Army and the wider community as a highly responsive reserve brigade. It has responded to domestic emergencies including the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in 2009, and 40 per cent of 9th Brigade soldiers have deployed on operations overseas.

The Commander of the 9th Brigade, Brigadier Peter Connor, said some of the IPRC’s participants have come from areas of the Brigade’s local depots, including Port Lincoln, Warradale and Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

“We value cultural diversity in our workforce at the 9th Brigade and we recognise the unique contribution that Indigenous Australians make to the ADF,” Brigadier Connor said.